A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 89

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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89.
The one who followed me out was Maddox.
“Your Highness!”
“Maddox?”
“If you thought it rude of me to follow, I beg your forgiveness. But your face looked terribly pale.”
Maddox’s expression was genuinely concerned.
With his gentle, dignified bearing, he was a man in his prime—and had I not known his role as a villain, I would have believed every word he spoke.
But he was the greedy one who had imprisoned James in Lethe Tower.
I could never trust him.
Perhaps sensing my wariness, Maddox smiled.
“There is no need for caution. I am nothing like Count Pixis. I would never presume to manipulate the Sixth Prince. And I have made my position quite clear to my wife as well.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That I was wrong to delay giving the lady of the house what was rightfully hers.”
I took a breath to compose myself, then offered a smile.
“I see. Thank you for your concern.”
“And please pay no mind to what my sister says. Soon enough you’ll return to the Imperial Palace, and the Prince is utterly devoted to you alone, is he not?”
“….”
“I shall handle matters as I always do.”
“As I always do.”
An unsettling phrase.
I didn’t think Leonard had been careless in his duties, but even he was only one man.
And he had only been a prince for less than five years, while these people were born into Blackwood.
‘Keep your wits about you. I’m in the tiger’s den.’
“Thank you, Maddox.”
When I smiled again, Maddox’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“You are remarkably composed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your husband—the Sixth Prince—has departed for Blackwood Forest, yet you show no sign of worry whatsoever.”
“Leonard will return without fail.”
In the original work, the naturally occurring monster breaks that emerge don’t produce anything particularly formidable.
That’s why Leonard had made that absurd claim about waiting four days before departing.
Besides, Leonard was immortal, and given how many times he had crossed the line between life and death, I could never imagine him actually dying.
‘Does he hope I’ll panic and become dependent on him?’
I couldn’t discern Maddox’s true intentions. I maintained my smile and tilted my head.
“Or do you think my husband might die like someone else and fail to return?”
“No!! Absolutely not! I was merely concerned…!!”
“Then that settles it. I have no doubt in my husband’s victory.”
Then, in the distance, I saw Alex running toward us.
He must have heard that I had gone to the meal alone and came out of concern.
Maddox watched him quietly.
“His Highness Alex seems to hold His Highness in very high regard.”
“Well, Leonard told him to protect me. He’s my younger brother who respects Leonard.”
“Ah, yes, that makes sense.”
Maddox drew out his words and turned his gaze toward me.
“A good relationship.”
“Sister-in-law!!”
The moment he finished speaking, Alex arrived before me like lightning.
After catching his breath for a moment, Alex shifted his gaze to Maddox beside him. Maddox bowed his head to Alex, then turned and walked away.
The instant Maddox rounded the corner of the corridor, Alex spoke urgently.
“Sister-in-law. Please stay with me. You weren’t startled, were you?”
“Why would I be startled? It’s not as though I went to my death—it was merely a meal. Besides, you had duties to attend to as Prince Alex.”
Specifically, bringing Youngsik, Baron Monas, Josephine’s son.
We had ultimately been unable to find any information related to Hades, and after much deliberation, we decided to bring him in.
Since Leonard couldn’t handle those complicated procedures, Alex had to step away temporarily to manage them.
“You’re perspiring heavily. Here, use my handkerchief.”
I withdrew the handkerchief I’d kept in my bosom and offered it to him.
But Alex hesitated and didn’t take the handkerchief.
“What’s wrong?”
“Is it truly acceptable for you to give me a handkerchief?”
For a moment, I recalled the archaic custom in Sincester where handkerchiefs were given only to intimate men, but something felt off about it.
“In Blake, can’t one give a handkerchief to anyone? I’m married to Leonard now, so I must follow Blake’s customs.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right. I was mistaken.”
For a moment, it seemed as though the tips of Alex’s ears had flushed red, but I thought it was my imagination. The corridor of Iaphe Castle was quite dim, after all.
“Then, gratefully.”
I made my way with Alex to my newly arranged office.
There, not only the handmaidens who had come with me from Blackwood were waiting, but Sara and Ignis as well.
When I recounted what had happened at the meal, everyone erupted in excitement.
Especially Dorothy, who had recently become absorbed in novels about infidelity, was the most animated.
“How could she! How could she! The Empress Consort must be mad!!”
“Dorothy, mind your words.”
“But Mrs. Everhart, how could anyone but a madwoman ask His Highness, whom His Highness loves, to choose a concubine for him? Does that make any sense?”
“There’s no need to concern yourself.”
Alex spoke exactly as Maddox had.
“She said such things to dampen my sister-in-law’s spirits. Simply ignore her.”
“Of course that was my intention.”
Hmph, as if I would listen to the Empress Consort when I don’t even listen to the Empress. She’s not even Leonard’s true mother.
I snorted and turned my gaze toward Thetis.
“Thetis, have you obtained everything from the Marquise?”
“She’s still stalling for time.”
“It must be because of the upcoming banquet.”
Any noble household holds a celebration banquet when a new mistress arrives.
It seemed she intended to host that banquet herself rather than having me do it—to demonstrate her superior competence and crush my spirit in the process.
“What am I, a tree, and they the woodcutters? They keep trying to break my resolve.”
Moreover, my husband is the master of this territory, so I couldn’t fathom why she was being so foolish.
I spent a good while cursing the author for setting such low intelligence for the supporting character before rising from my seat.
“The real opponents we need to fight aren’t extras who appear in the novel a handful of times. It’s the Empress and Demian.”
“Pardon? A novel…?”
Dorothy and Alex looked at me strangely, but I brushed past it.
“It’s only a matter of time before the Marquioness hands over control of the household. Let’s focus on preparing for the Redford Hunting Festival instead.”
* * *
“Do you all remember this?”
What I laid out on the table were the sacred relics I’d retrieved from the Sincesti Room—a bow and a single arrow.
The room contained only people from Sincester.
Since they mustn’t know I possessed holy power, I’d asked them to step out, though I felt apologetic about it.
“I remember! The sacred relics of Sincester that His Majesty bestowed upon you!”
“Truly peculiar. A bowstring-less bow and only a single arrow.”
“And it’s terribly plain too. Not a single ornament—it’s rather ugly.”
“That’s not what matters. What matters is that I need to practice with it now.”
Dorothy gasped at my words.
“What? Your Highness is completely hopeless with a bow!”
“Not just the bow—you’re hopeless at most forms of combat.”
These people truly didn’t realize that even innocent remarks could wound someone.
Perhaps I should post a sign in my room: “Sometimes the truth hurts people too.”
“I’m planning to participate in the Redford Hunting Festival with this bow.”
Abigail’s expression grew worried at my words.
“This is a sacred relic. It requires holy power to function, so won’t it be discovered if you use it at the festival?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be hunting animals at the festival—I have no interest in slaughtering beasts anyway. I’m simply using the bow to appear favorably disposed toward the people of Redford Territory.”
As evidenced by the Redford family crest, archery was their specialty.
Leonard and I had decided to accept Prince Chris’s proposal.
Carrying a bow also signified that we would not encroach upon Redford’s methods and privileges.
“You say you won’t shoot the bow, yet you’ll practice? Why is that?”
“Brother said that since this is a sacred relic bestowed by God, it must have some meaning. I thought I’d practice while preparing for the festival. Besides, the practice will be…”
I gazed out the window toward Lethe Tower.
“…conducted in that deserted place over there.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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